Palaeoanthropology Collection

Lascaux II cave painting replica C013 / 7382
Lascaux II replica of a Lascaux cave painting. These are horse and cow figures in the central gallery. The original Lascaux cave was closed to the public in 1963

Lascaux II cave painting replica C013 / 7378
Lascaux II replica of a Lascaux cave painting. These are deer and auroch figures in the Great Hall of the Bulls. The original Lascaux cave was closed to the public in 1963

Stages in human evolution
Human evolution. Illustration showing stages in the evolution of humans. At left, proconsul (23-15 million years ago) is depicted hypothetically as an African ape with both primitive

Trail of Laetoli footprints
Trail of hominid footprints fossilized in volcanic ash. This 70 metre trail was found by Mary Leakeys expedition at Laetoli, Tanzania in 1978

Female Australopithecus africanus, artists impression. A. Africanus was a bipedal hominid that lived between 3.5 and 2 million years ago

Primate skulls. Coloured x-rays of the skulls of a gorilla (Gorilla gorilla, left), chimpanzee (Pan trogoldytes, centre) and human (Homo sapien, left)

Scimitar cat attacking a hominid, artists impression. The scimitar cat (Homotherium sp.) was a member of the sabre-toothed cat family (Machairodontinae) which lived throughout Africa

Artwork of the stages in human evolution
Human evolution. Illustration showing stages in the evolution of humans. At left, proconsul (23-15 million years ago) is depicted hypothetically as an African ape with both primitive

Footprints and skeleton of Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis). The fossilised bones of the A. afarensis specimen known as Lucy are superimposed over footprints made by the same species. A

Homo heidelbergensis. Artists impression of two male H. heidelbergensis hominids which lived between 600, 000 and 250, 000 years ago in the Pleistocene era

Homo heidelbergensis skull and face of a male, artists impression. H. heidelbergensis lived between 600, 000 and 250, 000 years ago in the Pleistocene era

Model of Lucy, a young female Australopithecus afarensis hominid. The model was created from a cast of Lucys bones, and exhibited at the Kenya National Museum, Nairobi, Kenya

Homo erectus, Java Man cranium (Sangiran 17) cast
Lateral view of partially reconstructed cranium of Homo erectus Java Man about 700, 000 years old known as Sangiran 17. Discovered by Towikromo in 1969

Female Homo habilis. Artists impression of a female Homo habilis holding her young and plucking fruit from a tree. H. habilis was an ancestor of modern humans that lived between around 2.1

Australopithecus boisei. Artists impression of the skull and head of an Australopithecus boisei, a hominid that lived in Africa between about 2.3 to 1.3 million years ago

Olduvai Gorge landscape, Tanzania C015 / 6429
Olduvai Gorge landscape, Tanzania. This gorge (also called Oldupai Gorge) is famous for the fossils discovered here of extinct hominins that form part of the human evolutionary tree

Ardipithecus ramidus landscape. Artwork of Ardipithecus ramidus male and female hominids (right) climbing a fallen branch and standing in an African forest during the Pliocene. A

Red Lady of Paviland femur C016 / 5028
Red Lady of Paviland femur. This fossil femur, stained red with ochre, is part of a human fossil skeleton (Homo sapiens) known as the Red Lady of Paviland (Paviland 1)

Homo erectus skull. Artwork, from 1931, showing a reconstruction of the skull of Java Man, based on the fossil skull fragments (dark grey) discovered by Dubois in Java in 1891

Primate brain evolution. Conceptual computer artwork of a brain (centre) with a monkey head (left) and a human head (right), representing the evolution of primate brains

Richard Leakey, politician and conservationist
Richard Leakey (Richard Erskine Frere Leakey, b 1944), Kenyan politician, palaeoanthropologist and conservationist. Seen here with an elephant. Date: circa 1980s

Neanderthal woman, artwork. The bones of of her right hip joint are shown here. Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) inhabited Europe and western Asia between 230, 000 and 29, 000 years ago

Homo heidelbergensis skull (Cranium 5) C015 / 6921
Homo heidelbergensis skull (Cranium 5). Excavated in 1992 from the Sima de los Huesos pit in the Atapuerca foothills in Spain, this fossil skull dates from around 400, 000 years ago

Homo ergaster. Model of a male Homo ergaster. H. ergaster was a hominid that emerged about 1.9 million years ago in Africa. It is considered to be an ancestor of later Homo populations. H

Australopithecus afarensis. Model of a male Australopithecus afarensis hominid. This hominid lived between 3.9 and 2.9 million years ago. Fossil specimens have only be found in eastern Africa

Homo ergaster females and young, artists impression. The hominid H. ergaster is traditionally considered an early type of H. erectus by scientists

Modern human and Homo floresiensis
Modern human and Homo floriensis. Illustration comparing a modern human female (Homo sapiens sapiens) with a female Homo floriensis

Male and female Homo habilis, artists impression. H. habilis was an ancestor of modern humans that lived between around 2.1 and 1.6 million years ago

Mammoth bone hut excavation, Ukraine
Mammoth bone hut being excavated by archaeologists near the village of Mezhyrich, Ukraine. The mammoth bones are seen around the archeologists and have been numbered

Stages in female human evolution
Human evolution. Artwork of female apes and humans showing some of the stages in human evolution. At left, Proconsul sp. (23-17 million years ago)

Prehistoric skeletons. These two embracing neolithic skeletons are called the Valdaro Lovers. They are believed to be a man and woman in their early twenties who died about 5000-6000 years ago

Cro-Magnon man and woman, artwork C017 / 7258
Cro-Magnon man and woman, artwork. They are wearing animal skins and necklaces, and are carrying tools and weapons. Cro-Magnons are a form of early modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens)

Prehistoric hominin females, artwork. From left to right: Flores Man (Homo floresiensis), Cro-Magnon (European Early Modern Humans or EEMH, Homo sapiens sapiens)

Neolithic flint arrowheads C014 / 1033
Neolithic flint arrowheads. Stone-age flint arrowheads dating from around 8, 000 to 10, 000 years ago. These specimens were found in Mauritania, West Africa

Bronze Age tools and utensils, artwork C016 / 8289
Bronze Age tools and utensils. Artwork of humans producing tools and utensils in Bronze Age Europe. Shown here is the making of earthenware pottery, the milling of cereal grains

Australopithecus africanus pelvis, STS-14 C015 / 6919
Australopithecus africanus pelvis (STS-14). This fossil specimen was discovered in 1947, in Sterkfontein, South Africa. The entire specimen consists of the pelvis, part of the vertebral column

Australopithecus africanus skull (STS-5) C015 / 6916
Australopithecus africanus skull. This is specimen STS-5, also known as Mrs Ples. It dates from around 2 million years ago and was discovered in Sterkfontein, South Africa, in 1947

Sima de los Huesos fossils C015 / 6587
Sima de los Huesos fossils. Researchers with a display of fossil bones of Homo heidelbergensis from the Sima de los Huesos (Pit of Bones) site, Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain

Cro-Magnon 1 fossil skull C016 / 5882
Cro-Magnon 1 fossil skull. Cast of a fossil of the skull of a male aged around 45 years of age. It dates from around 28, 000 years ago

Neanderthal couple, artwork C016 / 5791
Neanderthal couple, artwork. Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) inhabited Europe and western Asia between 230, 000 and 29, 000 years ago

Ivory and bone tools, Upper Palaeolithic C016 / 5026
Ivory and bone tools, Upper Palaeolithic. These items date from between 18, 000 and 30, 000 years ago. From upper left to lower right they are

Lascaux II cave painting replica C013 / 7375
Lascaux II replica of a Lascaux cave painting. This is the unicorn figure in the Great Hall of the Bulls. The original Lascaux cave was closed to the public in 1963

Restoring Lascaux cave paintings replica. The original Lascaux cave was closed to the public in 1963, with the Lascaux II replica opening nearby in 1983

Cro-Magnon man reconstructed head C013 / 6464
Reconstruction of the head of Cro-Magnon man. Cro-Magnon is the earliest European example of Homo sapiens. Cro-Magnons lived between about 40, 000 and 10, 000 years ago, in the Upper Paleolithic

Homo floresiensis. Artists impression of the skull, head and face of Homo floresiensis. The remains of this hominid were found in 2003 at the Liang Bua Cave on the island of Flores, Indonesia

Head of a model of a neanderthal man
Neanderthal man. Head of a model of a neanderthal man (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis). Neanderthals were early humans that lived in Europe and the Middle East about 120-30, 000 years ago

Neanderthal skull, muscles and head
Neanderthal heads (Homo neanderthalensis), artwork. The skull is at top, the facial musculature at centre and the head at bottom. Neanderthals had several physical differences to modern humans

Australopithecus africanus skeleton, artists impression. A. Africanus was a bipedal hominid that lived between 3.5 and 2 million years ago

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Palaeoanthropology unravels the mysteries of our ancient past, piecing together the puzzle of human evolution. From the intricate Lascaux II cave painting replica C013/7378 to the Trail of Laetoli footprints, every artifact tells a story. Step by step, we explore the stages in human evolution. A glimpse into history reveals a female Australopithecus africanus, standing tall amidst her primitive surroundings. Primate skulls offer insights into our ancestors' cranial structure and brain development. Intriguingly, a scimitar cat attacking a hominid reminds us of the challenges faced by early humans in their struggle for survival. Artwork depicting these stages in human evolution serves as a visual timeline connecting us to our roots. The footprints and skeleton of Lucy provide an intimate encounter with one of our earliest known ancestors - an Australopithecus afarensis who walked this Earth over 3 million years ago. Model replicas bring Homo heidelbergensis back to life, allowing us to marvel at their physical features and speculate about their way of life. Australopithecus boisei stands out with its robust skull and powerful jaw muscles adapted for chewing tough vegetation. Meanwhile, Homo erectus emerges on stage - Java Man cranium (Sangiran 17) cast showcases their distinct facial characteristics that set them apart from earlier hominids. Palaeoanthropology invites us on an extraordinary journey through time as we uncover humanity's origins, and is through these artifacts and discoveries that we gain deeper insight into who we are today – creatures shaped by millions of years of evolutionary progress.